Display container



Oct. 22, 1968 GREEN ET AL DISPLAY CONTAINER Filed Nov. 1, 1966 INVENTORSU ied, St t s P n 3,406,816 DISPLAY CONTAINER James R. Green, LongBeach,and Arnold J. Fine, Redondo- Beach, Calif., assignors to Mattel, Inc., acorporation of California Filed Nov. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 591,196

,7 Ciaims. (Cl. 206-4534) .ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE The invention isan improved display container particularly adapted for use with dollfigures. Preferably, it is made from rectangular transparent plastictubing in desired lengths with top and bottom closure caps. Within thecontainer is provided a support or holder member for holding the dollfigure upright in the container with its legs straddling the holder.Means are provided in the bottom cap to provide for-holding engagementbetween this cap and the container or carton itself. This means may takethe form of lugs extending diagonally across the corners of the bottomcap or members in the form of legs extending upwardly at the corners ofthe bottom cap so that the edges of the container can be held betweenthese extending members and the side walls of the bottom-cap. Theseextending members on'the bottom cap constitute legs so that the bottomcap,'when removed and inverted, becomes a table and similarly, the topcap can be constructed as ana-rticle'or part of anarticle such asspecifically aseat, which then can be rested on the bottom cap wheninverted for forming a chair with legs.

-This invention relates to an improved display container or package forarticles particularly doll figureswhich may be displayed for sale in thecontainer, which is made of transparent material.

It is the primary object of 'the invention to provide a containerparticularly for doll figures of this type in which'the figures maybepackaged and may also be displayed. It is of course desirable that thedoll figure be dis played in the container in an upright position of thefigure. Containers of this type, meeting all of the requirements anddesired features have not previously been available. It is of coursenecessary that the container have sufficient strength and rigidity toprotect the doll figure when it is packaged therein, but must of courseat the same time meet the requirement of beingcapable of being used todisplay the doll figure while in the'container. Particularly, it is ofcourse desired that the doll figure can be displayed in an uprightposition thereof in the container. Further objects of the inventionreside in the fulfillment of these purposes. i

In a preferred form of the invention-the-container is the form of arectangular transparent tube of material made of one of various knownlight gauge plastic materials. Top and'jbottom closures in the form ofcaps are provided to complete the container. formation or configurationis p r'ovided iri' the bottom cap preferably integral or secured theretowhich ca'nbestraddled by the legs of the doll figure 'so as to hold thedoll in an upright position for-display. Preferably, this holding meansis cruciform .in cross-section. In one form of the invention the saidformation, which is a spider or holder is removable from the cap and canbe used to hold the doll erect when out of the container. g I v Afurther feature of the container is the provision of means in thebottomcap to holdthe e'nd parts; ofthe 'tua bular enclosure therein wheninserted into the end cap. Preferably, this means takes the form of lugsextending diagonally across the corners of the bottom end cap, leavingspaces between the edges of the lugs and the walls of 3,436,816 PatentedOct. 22, 1968 the cap in which end portions of the transparent materialof the enclosure are held.

Another particular feature of the invention is that the top and bottomcaps may be configured to form the upper and lower parts of a particularor given article so that when the top and bottom caps are removed fromthe enclosure, they themselves can be assembled together to form such anarticle which may, for example, be a chair or a seat having legs.

Further objects and additional advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawingwherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a disassembled view of the form of the invention shown inFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a disassembled view of a modified form of'the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a disassembled view of parts of the form of the inventionshown in FIGURE 3.

Referring now more in detail to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing, numeral10 designates a preferred form of the display container of theinvention. It comprises a tube of transparent material 12 which may be athin gauge plastic of various known commercial types. The container hasa rectangular top cap 14 having a top edge flange 15 as shown, and sidewalls, two of which are designated at 17 and 18, sized to fit over thetop end of the tube 12. In a modified form of construction instead ofproviding a tube of transparent material, one side as designated at 13is formed of an opaque material such as cardboard which is adhesivelybonded to side portions of the transparent material. An economy infabrication can be realized with this construction.

The container has a bottom cap or closure as designated at 21 which isrectangular and shaped to fit over and 1 form a closure for the bottomend of the tube 12. The bottom cap 21 has side walls, two of which aredesignated at 23 and 24. Provided within the bottom cap 21 are lugswhich serve the purpose of holding the bottom cap onto the tube 12.Three of these lugs are shown and designated at 26, 27, and 28; theyextend diagonally across the inside corners of the bottom cap 21 asshown, leaving spaces between their edges and the side walls of thebottom cap. These spaces are dimensioned to receive the end portions ofthe side walls of the tube 12 sufiiciently snugly so that the cap 21 isheld onto the bottom of the tube 12 as an end closure.

Provided in the bottom cap 21 is a retaining member or structure 32comprising members 33 and 34 extending transversely to each other to becruciform in cross-sectional configuration. One of these members extendslengthwise across the middle of the cap 21 and the other member extendstransversely across the width of the cap 21. The upper edges of thesemembers are tapered on opposite sides as shown at 35 and 36 for member33; and 37 and 38 for member 34.

, Jan. 23, 1964, now Patent No. 3,277,601. Cap 14 is, of

course, removable when it is desired to remove the doll figure.

From the foregoing those skilled in the art will observe that theinvention provides a container which is sufficient- 1y strong and rigidfor packing and transportation of an item, such as a doll figure, andalso is readily serviceable for purposes of display of the doll figurewith the doll figure held in an upright position.

Further use and utility can be made of the structure as described bymodification in the configuration of the top cap and bottom cap. Suchmodification is shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The tube 12, FIGURE 3, is thesame as it is in FIGURES 1 and 2. The top car is designated at 40 inFIGURE 3. It is rectangular like the top cap in FIGURES 1 and 2 having afiat surface 41 with depending side walls which fit around the upper endof the tube 12. The cap 40 has an upstanding back wall 42 and side walls43 and 44 configurated to form a seat as shown. The top cap 40 can befitted onto the top of tube 12 as an enclosure with the seat then beingat the top of the container.

A similar holding means for a doll figure may be used in the containeras designated at 32. The bottom cap is designated at 50. It isrectangular having a closure surface 51 and side walls as shown anddesignated at 52, 53, 54, and 55. At the corners of the bottom cap areprovided legs configurated to be received in the inside corners of cap50 as designated at 57, 58, 59, and 60. The legs fit snugly into the endof tube 12 to hold the cap on. Or on the other end the legs can bepositioned and secured to have the end of tube 12 held between the legsand the inside corners of cap 50. The bottom cap can be fitted onto thebottom end of the tube 12 like the bottom cap 21 at FIGURES 1 and 2 withthe legs on the outside of the tube 12 and fitting contiguouslythereagainst. In this form of the invention, the holding structure 32 isnot integral with or secured to the bottom cap 50 and is detachabletherefrom as illustrated in FIGURE 4. FIGURE 4 shows the top cap 40 andthe bottom cap 50 removed from the display container. As shown, thebottom cap 50 is separated from the holding struction 32. In FIGURE 4,the bottom cap 50 is shown inverted or turned upright with the legs 58to 60 extending downwardly. The upper cap 40 can now be rested on thebottom cap part 50 to form a chair or seat. In one form of theinvention, the bottom cap 50 is constructed so that it fits inside thelower end of the tube 12 rather than on the outside thereof, and when soconstructed, it may have a flange like the flange 15 shown in FIGURE 2.When the parts are then assembled in the manner descn'bed in connectionwith FIGURE 4, the top cap 40 can then be fitted down over the bottomcap 50 just as if the bottom cap 50 were the upper end of the tube 12.

As may be seen from the foregoing, the top and bottom caps of thedisplay container when taken off can be reassembled to form an articlesuch as a chair and the doll figure may then be seated in the chair. Inthis way, unusual utility and entertainment value are embodied in thedevice of the invention, which is fascinating by reason of the thingsthat can be done with it by the child. The disclosure herein illustratesthe principle of the invention which may, of course, be practiced inways other than those specifically outlined herein. That is, the top andbottom caps of the display container may be configurated to form theupper and lower parts of many objects or articles other than a chair;as, for example, the top cap might be configurated to represent theupper part of a toy automobile and the bottom cap might be configuratedto be the lower half so that when these two parts are assembledtogether, they form a toy automobile. Many interesting results andobjects can be realized in this way.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will observe and appreciatethat the invention achieves and realizes all of the objects andadvantages as outlined in the foregoing,

as well as having additional advantages that are apparent 7 from thedetiled description. The invention embodies extraordinary utility forits purpose, and the result is realized in a way embodying the factorsof ease of fabrication, economy in cost of material and production,along with a high degree of durability. The result of making it possibleto display a doll figure in an upright position in the original packageor container is realized. Further results are gained in that the partsof the container are such that they may be reassembled into additionalobjects or toys with which the toy figure in the display container canbe utilized.

What is claimed is:

1. A display container adapted for use with a doll figure having legscomprising an enclosure which is at least partially transparent, closuremeans for the ends of the enclosure including a bottom end cap and topcap, means configurated to extend inwardly from the bottom end cap intothe interior of the enclosure beyond the cap, said means having portionspositioned closely adjacent to side walls of the bottom end cap andspaced so that edge portions of the said enclosure can be engaged andheld between said portions of the extending means and the side walls ofthe bottom cap.

2. A display container as in claim 1 wherein said means extending fromthe bottom cap includes a member configurated to be straddled by thelegs of a doll figure whereby the doll figure may be displayed in thedisplay container in an upright position.

3. A display container as in claim 1 wherein the means extendinginwardly from the bottom cap comprises members which are integral withthe bottom cap and are of equal length whereby the bottom cap can beremoved and by simply being inverted forms a table.

4. A display container as in claim 1 wherein said extending meanscomprises members having flat surfaces parallel to and spaced from theinside surfaces of the side walls of the bottom end cap.

5. A display container comprising a tubular member which is at least inpart transparent, a top cap to provide a top cover for the enclosure anda bottom cap configurated to provide a bottom closure for the container,said bottom cap having integral corner members of equal length whichextend towards the tubular member from the bottom cap beyond its edges,whereby when the bottom cap is removed and disengaged from the tubularmember and inverted, it forms a table.

6. A display container comprising a tubular member formed of materialwhich is at least in part transparent, a top cap which provide a coverfor the enclosure and a bottom cap configurated to provide 'a bottomclosure for the container, said top cap being configurated such that theupper part of the cap forms a seat.

7. A display container as in claim 6 wherein said bottom cap includescorner members of equal length extending toward said tubular memberbeyond the edges of the cap and dimensioned whereby the bottom cap canbe removed and disengaged from the tubular member and when inverted,forms a table and whereby the said top cap can be set on said table toform a chair with legs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,573,190 2/1926 Raizen 46-152,636,597 4/1953 Hinz 206-4534 2,685,366 8/1954 Jenner 22942 2,749,0126/1956 Beach 22915 3,096,903 7/1963 Grant 22042 3,233,356 2/1966Thompson 4611 OTHER REFERENCES Modern Packaging: August 1963, p. 97.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Primary Examiner.

